Citations Affected: IC 22-4.
Synopsis: Unemployment compensation waiting period. Eliminates
the waiting period for unemployment benefits.
Effective: July 1, 2004.
January 6, 2004, read first time and referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning labor
and industrial safety.
SECTION 1. IC 22-4-2-22 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 22. "Valid claim"
means a claim filed by an individual who has established qualifying
wage credits and who is totally, partially, or part-totally unemployed.
Provided, No individual in a benefit period may file a valid claim for
a waiting period, if applicable, or benefit period rights with respect to
any period subsequent to the expiration of such benefit period.
SECTION 2. IC 22-4-2-29 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 29. "Insured
unemployment" means unemployment during a given week for which
waiting period credit, if applicable, or benefits are claimed under the
state employment security program, the unemployment compensation
for federal employees program, the unemployment compensation for
veterans program, or the railroad unemployment insurance program.
SECTION 3. IC 22-4-14-4 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 4. (a) This subsection
applies before January 1, 2005. As a condition precedent to the
payment of benefits to an individual with respect to any week, such
individual shall be required to serve a waiting period of one (1) week
in which he the individual has been totally, partially or part-totally
unemployed and with respect to which he the individual has received
no benefits, but during which he the individual was eligible for
benefits in all other respects and was not otherwise ineligible for
benefits under any provisions of this article. Such waiting period shall
be a week in the individual's benefit period and during such week such
individual shall be physically and mentally able to work and available
for work. No An individual in a benefit period may not file for waiting
period or benefit period rights with respect to any subsequent period.
Provided, However, That no waiting period shall be required as a
prerequisite for drawing extended benefits.
(b) This subsection applies after December 31, 2004. An
individual in a benefit period may not file for benefit period rights
for any subsequent period.
SECTION 4. IC 22-4-15-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.189-2003,
SECTION 3, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 1. (a) With respect to benefit periods established
on and after July 6, 1980, an individual who has voluntarily left the
individual's most recent employment without good cause in connection
with the work or who was discharged from the individual's most recent
employment for just cause is ineligible for waiting period, if
applicable, or benefit rights for the week in which the disqualifying
separation occurred and until the individual has earned remuneration
in employment equal to or exceeding the weekly benefit amount of the
individual's claim in each of eight (8) weeks. If the qualification
amount has not been earned at the expiration of an individual's benefit
period, the unearned amount shall be carried forward to an extended
benefit period or to the benefit period of a subsequent claim.
(b) When it has been determined that an individual has been
separated from employment under disqualifying conditions as outlined
in this section, the maximum benefit amount of the individual's current
claim, as initially determined, shall be reduced by twenty-five percent
(25%). If twenty-five percent (25%) of the maximum benefit amount
is not an even dollar amount, the amount of such reduction will be
raised to the next higher even dollar amount. The maximum benefit
amount may not be reduced by more than twenty-five percent (25%)
during any benefit period or extended benefit period.
(c) The disqualifications provided in this section shall be subject to
the following modifications:
(1) An individual shall not be subject to disqualification because
of separation from the individual's employment if:
(A) the individual left to accept with another employer
previously secured permanent full-time work which offered
reasonable expectation of continued covered employment and
betterment of wages or working conditions, and thereafter was
employed on said job;
(B) having been simultaneously employed by two (2)
employers, the individual leaves one (1) such employer
voluntarily without good cause in connection with the work
but remains in employment with the second employer with a
reasonable expectation of continued employment; or
(C) the individual left to accept recall made by a base period
employer.
(2) An individual whose unemployment is the result of medically
substantiated physical disability and who is involuntarily
unemployed after having made reasonable efforts to maintain the
employment relationship shall not be subject to disqualification
under this section for such separation.
(3) An individual who left work to enter the armed forces of the
United States shall not be subject to disqualification under this
section for such leaving of work.
(4) An individual whose employment is terminated under the
compulsory retirement provision of a collective bargaining
agreement to which the employer is a party, or under any other
plan, system, or program, public or private, providing for
compulsory retirement and who is otherwise eligible shall not be
deemed to have left the individual's work voluntarily without
good cause in connection with the work. However, if such
individual subsequently becomes reemployed and thereafter
voluntarily leaves work without good cause in connection with the
work, the individual shall be deemed ineligible as outlined in this
section.
(5) An otherwise eligible individual shall not be denied benefits
for any week because the individual is in training approved under
Section 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, nor shall the
individual be denied benefits by reason of leaving work to enter
such training, provided the work left is not suitable employment,
or because of the application to any week in training of provisions
in this law (or any applicable federal unemployment
compensation law), relating to availability for work, active search
for work, or refusal to accept work. For purposes of this
subdivision, the term "suitable employment" means with respect
to an individual, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level
than the individual's past adversely affected employment (as
defined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974), and wages for
such work at not less than eighty percent (80%) of the individual's
average weekly wage as determined for the purposes of the Trade
Act of 1974.
(6) An individual is not subject to disqualification because of
separation from the individual's employment if:
(A) the employment was outside the individual's labor market;
(B) the individual left to accept previously secured full-time
work with an employer in the individual's labor market; and
(C) the individual actually became employed with the
employer in the individual's labor market.
(7) An individual who, but for the voluntary separation to move
to another labor market to join a spouse who had moved to that
labor market, shall not be disqualified for that voluntary
separation, if the individual is otherwise eligible for benefits.
Benefits paid to the spouse whose eligibility is established under
this subdivision shall not be charged against the employer from
whom the spouse voluntarily separated.
(8) An individual shall not be subject to disqualification if the
individual voluntarily left employment or was discharged due to
circumstances directly caused by domestic or family violence (as
defined in IC 31-9-2-42). An individual who may be entitled to
benefits based on this modification may apply to the office of the
attorney general to have an address designated by the office of the
attorney general to serve as the individual's address for purposes
of this article under IC 5-26.5.
As used in this subsection, "labor market" means the area surrounding
an individual's permanent residence, outside which the individual
cannot reasonably commute on a daily basis. In determining whether
an individual can reasonably commute under this subdivision, the
department shall consider the nature of the individual's job.
(d) "Discharge for just cause" as used in this section is defined to
include but not be limited to:
(1) separation initiated by an employer for falsification of an
employment application to obtain employment through
subterfuge;
(2) knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule
of an employer;
(3) unsatisfactory attendance, if the individual cannot show good
cause for absences or tardiness;
1980, the ineligibility shall continue for the week in which the failure
occurs and until the individual earns remuneration in employment
equal to or exceeding the weekly benefit amount of the individual's
claim in each of eight (8) weeks. If the qualification amount has not
been earned at the expiration of an individual's benefit period, the
unearned amount shall be carried forward to an extended benefit period
or to the benefit period of a subsequent claim.
(c) With respect to extended benefit periods established on and after
July 5, 1981, the ineligibility shall continue for the week in which the
failure occurs and until the individual earns remuneration in
employment equal to or exceeding the weekly benefit amount of the
individual's claim in each of four (4) weeks.
(d) If an individual failed to apply for or accept suitable work as
outlined in this section, the maximum benefit amount of the
individual's current claim, as initially determined, shall be reduced by
twenty-five percent (25%). If twenty-five percent (25%) of the
maximum benefit amount is not an even dollar amount, the amount of
such reduction shall be raised to the next higher even dollar amount.
The maximum benefit amount of the individual's current claim may not
be reduced by more than twenty-five percent (25%) during any benefit
period or extended benefit period.
(e) In determining whether or not any such work is suitable for an
individual, the department shall consider:
(1) the degree of risk involved to such individual's health, safety,
and morals;
(2) the individual's physical fitness and prior training and
experience;
(3) the individual's length of unemployment and prospects for
securing local work in the individual's customary occupation; and
(4) the distance of the available work from the individual's
residence.
However, work under substantially the same terms and conditions
under which the individual was employed by a base-period employer,
which is within the individual's prior training and experience and
physical capacity to perform, shall be considered to be suitable work
unless the claimant has made a bona fide change in residence which
makes such offered work unsuitable to the individual because of the
distance involved. For an individual who is not disqualified under
section 1(c)(8) of this chapter, the determination of suitable work for
the individual must reasonably accommodate the individual's need to
address the physical, psychological, legal, and other effects of domestic
or family violence.
arising under this section, the deputy shall, and in any other case the
deputy may, refer claims of individuals with respect to whom there is
an issue of the application of this section to an administrative law judge
who shall make the initial determination with respect thereto, in
accordance with the procedure in IC 22-4-17-3.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, an
individual shall not be ineligible for waiting period, if applicable, or
benefit rights under this section solely by reason of his the individual's
failure or refusal to apply for or to accept recall to work or
reemployment with an employer during the continuance of a labor
dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises of the employer,
if the individual's last separation from the employer occurred prior to
the start of the labor dispute and was permanent or for an indefinite
period.
SECTION 7. IC 22-4-15-4, AS AMENDED BY P.L.290-2001,
SECTION 9, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 4. (a) An individual shall be ineligible for waiting
period, if applicable, or benefit rights for any week with respect to
which the individual receives, is receiving, or has received payments
equal to or exceeding his the individual's weekly benefit amount in the
form of:
(1) deductible income as defined and applied in IC 22-4-5-1 and
IC 22-4-5-2; or
(2) any pension, retirement, or annuity payments, under any plan
of an employer whereby the employer contributes a portion or all
of the money. This disqualification shall apply only if some or all
of the benefits otherwise payable are chargeable to the experience
or reimbursable account of such employer, or would have been
chargeable except for the application of this chapter. For the
purposes of this subdivision, (2), federal old age, survivors, and
disability insurance benefits are not considered payments under
a plan of an employer whereby the employer maintains the plan
or contributes a portion or all of the money to the extent required
by federal law.
(b) If the payments described in subsection (a) are less than his the
individual's weekly benefit amount, an otherwise eligible individual
shall is not be ineligible and shall be entitled to receive for such week
benefits reduced by the amount of such payments.
(c) This section does not preclude an individual from delaying a
claim to pension, retirement, or annuity payments until the individual
has received the benefits to which the individual would otherwise be
eligible under this chapter. Weekly benefits received before the date
the individual elects to retire shall not be reduced by any pension,
retirement, or annuity payments received on or after the date the
individual elects to retire.
SECTION 8. IC 22-4-15-5 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 5. Except as provided
in IC 1971, 22-4-22, an individual shall be is ineligible for waiting
period, if applicable, or benefit rights for any week with respect to
which or a part of which he the individual receives, is receiving, has
received, or is seeking unemployment benefits under an unemployment
compensation law of another state or of the United States. Provided,
that However, this disqualification shall not apply if the appropriate
agency of such other state or of the United States finally determines
that he the individual is not entitled to such employment benefits,
including benefits to federal civilian employees under 5 U.S.C. 8501
et seq. and ex-servicemen pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Chapter 85 under 5
U.S.C. 8521 et seq.
SECTION 9. IC 22-4-16-1 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 1. Notwithstanding any
other provisions of this article, if an individual knowingly fails to
disclose amounts earned during any week in his the individual's
waiting period, if applicable, benefit period, or extended benefit period
with respect to which benefit rights or extended benefit rights are
claimed, or knowingly fails to disclose or has falsified as to any fact
which that would have disqualified him the individual or rendered
him the individual ineligible for benefits or extended benefits or would
have reduced his the individual's benefit rights or extended benefit
rights during such a week, all of his the individual's wage credits
established prior to the week of the falsification or failure to disclose
shall be cancelled, canceled, and any benefits or extended benefits
which that might otherwise have become payable to him the
individual and any benefit rights or extended benefit rights based upon
those wage credits shall be forfeited.
SECTION 10. IC 22-4-17-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.273-2003,
SECTION 5, AND AS AMENDED BY P.L.189-2003, SECTION 5, IS
CORRECTED AND AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2004]: Sec. 2. (a) When an individual files an
initial claim, the department shall promptly make a determination of
the individual's status as an insured worker in a form prescribed by the
board. A written notice of the determination of insured status shall be
furnished to the individual promptly. Each such determination shall be
based on and include a written statement showing the amount of wages
paid to the individual for insured work by each employer during the
individual's base period and shall include a finding as to whether such
wages meet the requirements for the individual to be an insured
worker, and, if so, the week ending date of the first week of the
individual's benefit period, the individual's weekly benefit amount, and
the maximum amount of benefits that may be paid to the individual for
weeks of unemployment in the individual's benefit period. For the
individual who is not insured, the notice shall include the reason for the
determination. Unless the individual, within twenty (20) ten (10) days
after such determination was mailed to the individual's last known
address, or otherwise delivered to the individual, asks a hearing thereon
before an administrative law judge, such determination shall be final
and benefits shall be paid or denied in accordance therewith.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (i), the department shall
promptly furnish each employer in the base period whose experience
or reimbursable account is potentially chargeable with benefits to be
paid to such individual with a notice in writing of the employer's
benefit liability. Such notice shall contain the date, the name and Social
Security account number of the individual, the ending date of the
individual's base period, and the week ending date of the first week of
the individual's benefit period. Such notice shall further contain
information as to the proportion of benefits chargeable to the
employer's experience or reimbursable account in ratio to the earnings
of such individual from such employer. Unless the employer, within
twenty (20) ten (10) days after such notice of benefit liability was
mailed to the employer's last known address, or otherwise delivered to
the employer, asks a hearing thereon before an administrative law
judge, such determination shall be final and benefits paid shall be
charged in accordance therewith.
(c) An employing unit, including an employer, having knowledge
of any facts which may affect an individual's eligibility or right to
waiting period credits, if applicable, or benefits, shall notify the
department of such facts within twenty (20) ten (10) days after the
mailing of notice that a former employee has filed an initial or
additional claim for benefits on a form prescribed by the board.
(d) In addition to the foregoing determination of insured status by
the department, the deputy shall, throughout the benefit period,
determine the claimant's eligibility with respect to each week for which
the claimant claims waiting period credit, if applicable, or benefit
rights, the validity of the claimant's claim therefor, and the cause for
which the claimant left the claimant's work, or may refer such claim to
an administrative law judge who shall make the initial determination
with respect thereto in accordance with the procedure in IC 22-4-17-3.
shall begin on the date following the date of revision of the original
determination and shall be filed with the commissioner in writing
within the prescribed periods as above set forth in subsection (c).
(h) Notice to the employer and the claimant that the determination
of the department is final if a hearing is not requested shall be
prominently displayed on the notice of the determination which is sent
to the employer and the claimant.
(i) If an allegation of the applicability of IC 22-4-15-1(c)(8) is made
by the individual at the time of the claim for benefits, the department
shall not notify the employer that a claim for benefits has been made.